“Good. I’ve made a few friends. I think.”
“That’s good to hear. How are your classes? Your coaches?”
“Coaches are the best. Hands down. My classes… You know, I was concerned about them since I was dumped into wherever they had room given how late we were in enrolling, so I have some random shit, but they’re turning out to be a lot of fun. Except calculus. I hate that.”
Lix laughs. “But how are you doing in it?”
“Meh. Not awful. The teacher’s pretty good at teaching. But I’m in this cryptic studies class that’s all about codes and old languages that turned out to have codes embedded into them. It’s got a lot of Illuminati vibes.”
“Cool. What else?”
I take another bite and think about what else there is to tell him. “The buildings aren’t named after prominent donors or local sites or anything like most campuses. These are all important people from the LGBTQIA+ community. Like the Alan Turing Building, which is where all the computer and digital science departments are. He cracked the enigma code during World War II, which was critical in changing the tide ofthe war, but he was left out of history because he was gay. He also committed suicide after being chemically castrated as a punishment for being gay.”
“Jeeze,” Lix says.
“Yep. The dorm I’m staying in was renamed in 2002 to Mark Bingham Dormitory. He was one of the men aboard Flight 93 during the 9/11 attacks who stormed the cockpit to fight the hijackers.” Chills race down my spine as they do every time I think about it. “And the campus center is the Sacred Band of Thebes, which were a troop of specialized soldiers consisting of 150 pairs of male couples. They were an elite force within the Theban army.”
“That’s really great. I love that.”
“Me too. I love that we’re honoring them, even if it’s after their deaths.”
“Sounds like Rainbow Dorset was a good move.”
“I wish I’d found this place first,” I say. “It’s really great.”
“You’re there now, and you have plenty of time to enjoy it.”
“I do. Thanks for helping me get here.”
“You’ve already thanked me. If you want to continue to thank me, keep your grades up, kick some balls, and have a good time. Okay?”
I smile. “I will. How’s Noah?”
“He’s fine. Camp is kicking his ass, but I think he likes it.”
I grin. “What’ve you been up to?”
“Well, we bought this house with the idea that we’d go room by room and remodel it, making it our own. I think I’m going to begin with the entryway. I’ve been watching videos, and it doesn’t need any construction so there’s no reason I can’t do it.”
“What’re you thinking?”
“I’m thinking maybe some ceiling details, but not popcorn texture. That’s tacky. Maybe something to frame in the room. Change up the lighting to something kind of elegant and put a rosette thing over it. I found this really cool luxe wallpaper that I think will look great on the one wall as a focal point. The biggestthing I’m going to do is lay some fancy tile. Maybe change out the door. Then it’s all about choosing pieces of furniture.”
“They make tiles that look like cobblestone,” I say. “You could totally make it look a little old school. You love old European vibes.”
“Ahh. That sounds awesome. I’ll look it up.”
“What’s Noah think about this plan?”
Lix laughs. “He doesn’t care at all. He nixes colors and vetoes furniture, but otherwise, he looks at me like a deer in headlights when I begin describing what I want to do. We chose this house because of the layout. It’s perfect. The style left a lot to be desired. The only construction we need inside are bathroom remodels and a kitchen rehaul, so those are going to wait for a bit while I make my way to those rooms. Hopefully, I’ll have a cohesive vision by then. One that goes together in every room.”
“Oh god. You’re going to make a fun house, aren’t you? Every room being different?”
I can hear Lix’s grin when he answers. “There’s a very good chance.”
“I can’t wait to see what you’ve finished when I come home for Thanksgiving.”
“Probably just the entry.” He snorts. “We’ll see if even that’s done. I’m a hockey player, not a painter, tile worker, or anything else.”
